Nancy I. Sanders's Blog, page 37

Nonfiction for Children’s Magazines: A to Z Format

One of the formats you’ll see in children’s magazines for nonfiction articles is the A to Z format. I’ve used it successfully and it’s a lot of fun! The perk is that you can always use it as a springboard to write a children’s alphabet book and get extra mileage from your research!

Here is the article that I got published in Clubhouse Jr. in January’s 2009 issue:

God’s Amazing Creation…

From A to Z!

By Nancy I. Sanders

Let all of them praise the name of the Lord,

because he gave a command and they were created.

-Psalm 148:4, NIrV

Look at a few of the wonderful things our God has made.

Aardvarks live in Africa. They lick up tasty ants and termites for a yummy midnight snack. Their long, sticky tongues are perfect for slurping up insects.

Black holes. We can’t see them, but they exist far away in deep outer space. Black holes were formed when humongous stars imploded, leaving behind a strong pull of gravity.

Scientists can’t see black holes through telescopes, but they can watch how black holes affect other stars.

Cells are like building blocks in nature. God designed some cells to make fruits, nuts, or seeds. Other cells make muscles, teeth, or blood. Our bodies have millions and millions of cells! But on the day God first created you, you started out as one teeny tiny cell.

A Dingo is Australia’s wild dog. Aborigines, the native people of Australia, trained dingos to help them hunt for food.

Eggs are little examples of God’s big design. From the tiny butterfly egg to the huge ostrich egg, each egg contains the miracle of new life. Only God can make an egg!

A Fungus has an important job to do. It helps decompose things like dead leaves and turns them back into dirt. A mushroom is a fungus.

A Galaxy is a system of millions and billions of stars all spinning around together in space. God created many galaxies in the universe. Our sun is a star in the Milky Way galaxy.

The Hibiscus is a beautiful flower that grows in warm places around the world. The hibiscus is the official state flower of Hawaii.

Iguanas live on islands and in countries that are warm and tropical. The iguana’s tail makes up half of its length.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Its Great Red Spot is a huge storm that has been whirling and twirling around on the surface of the planet for hundreds of years.

Kangaroos and koala bears live in Australia. What an imagination God has! He created such interesting creatures.

Lightning flashes through the sky. Thunder crashes. Storms remind us that our great big God is a mighty and powerful Creator!

Magma is hot, melted rock that is deep underneath the ground. When a volcano erupts, magma rises up to the top of the volcano and explodes into the air. After magma erupts, it is called lava and flows down the sides of the volcano.

Night is a time for rest. We sleep each night, but God never sleeps. All through the night, God watches over us because He loves us.

An Orangutan’s fur looks orange. Because of its wise face and quiet ways, the orangutan’s name means “old man of the forest.”

Polar bears and penguins live in the ice and snow on the opposite sides of the earth. Polar bears live at the North Pole, and penguins live at the South Pole.

Quartz is a beautiful crystal or rock. Gemstones such as an agate, onyx, and tiger’s eye are all types of quartz. Quartz is one of the most common minerals on the surface of the earth.

Rainforests are home to many fascinating and unusual plants, bugs, and animals. Boa constrictors, sloths, toucans, poison arrow frogs, and leaf cutter ants all live in rainforests.

At the Seashore, we see sand crabs, seagulls, seashells and lots and lots of sand! It’s fun to dig in the sand, build sand castles, and splash in the salty waves.

Trumpeter swans make a noise like a tooting horn when they call out to each other. When they fly, they sound like they are praising God on high.

The Umbrella bird doesn’t have to carry an umbrella when it rains. It wears an “umbrella” on the top of its head.

A Venus flytrap is a plant that catches flies and other bugs in its sticky trap. Then it eats them up for dinner.

The World is a wonderful place to live. The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God created everything!

X-ray stars give off powerful bursts of X-rays from distant parts of the universe. To us, though, they look just like any other star.

You. God created each and every person. There’s no one else exactly like you!

Zooplankton are tiny animals that drift and float in the ocean waves. They are an important food source for other underwater creatures including the largest animal of all—the blue whale.

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If you decide to write and submit a nonfiction A-Z article to Clubhouse Jr. like I did, here are some tips:

They like quirky, lively text.

Note how it’s written in Second Person POV (Point of View). In other words, “You. There’s no one else exactly like you!”

Include a scripture verse along with your article. (This does not get counted in the total word count.) The version they use is the NIrV (New International Readers Version). If you don’t have a current copy of that Bible, you can quote from it at Bible Gateway.

When I submitted my article in 2008, 750 words was okay. Now they’re looking for nonfiction that tops at 600 words, according to their submission guidelines.

Filed under: Magazines, Nonfiction

Faith Building Fridays: Think

The godly think before [writing];

the wicked spout evil words.

-Proverbs 15:28, NLT

Before we sit down to write today, let’s first stop and take time to think. Let’s open the Bible and meditate upon God’s Word. Let’s pray and ask God to guide us to write words that are good and helpful and kind. Let’s dedicate our writing project today to God for Him to use to bring refreshment, renewal, and restoration.

Dear God, I would rather never write again than be like the wicked and spout evil words. Remind me each day to think and pray about what I am going to write before I sit down at the computer. Whether I write for the Christian market or for the general market, please help me write words based on godliness and truth. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

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For more faith-building encouragement as a writer, visit my site, Scribes.

Scribes: Devotions for Christian Writers is available at Amazon. What a great gift of encouragement for you to have to start a brand new year as a writer! Add it to your Christmas wish list today.

Filed under: Faith-building Fridays

Nonfiction for Children’s Magazines: Format

If you’re planning on writing a nonfiction article for a children’s magazine of your choice, then find a current issue with a nonfiction article where you say, “I think I could write an article like that!” Use that article’s format as a guide to write your own manuscript.

If you’re choosing to submit to Clubhouse Jr. magazine as I am, first choose whether you want to submit an article about extraordinary kids doing extraordinary things OR if you want to write a nature article. (Their two main current needs as my editor explained.)

An extraordinary kids article needs its own format so you’ll need to order in sample issues that have stories like that. (I’ve not yet written any of those.)

But if you want to write a nature article, I wanted to share 3 formats that have been successful for me. I’ll be posting these individually in upcoming posts with the actual articles so you can use one of these as your mentor text.

For my article, GOD’S AMAZING CREATION…FROM A TO Z! I simply used the ABC format and wrote about my topic from A to Z.

For my article, BLUE RIBBON MAMA, I chose ONE topic (mother alligators) and wrote about 4 unique facts on them.

For my article, NOSEY NEIGHBORS, I chose one animal characteristic (unique noses) and wrote about a number of animals that have unique noses.

These 3 formats seem to be featured frequently in their magazine, so they’re a good foundation to start with. You can choose which one you prefer for the topic you want to write about.

I’ll share more details about each of these formats in upcoming posts so stay tuned!

Filed under: Magazines, Nonfiction

Book Review: The Plans I Have For You

The Plans I Have For You

by Amy Parker

Art by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Summary

This 32-page fully illustrated hardback picture book is based on the Scripture in Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'” With perky and quirky rhyming text, kids are reminded that no matter who they are or where they live, God has a very, very special plan and purpose for them. Written in the second person point of view, this speaks directly from God’s heart to children, “Hey YOU! I’ve got big plans for you!” is the catchy opening that hooks the reader immediately. Plus, it encourages children to read the Bible along the journey to discover exactly what these plans are. And in the end, kids are motivated to go out and do what God created them to do.

What I Like

Not only does this talk about different careers children can grow up to have, but this emphasizes that each child is God’s hands and feet here on earth to accomplish a very special purpose from the time since they were born. This book stresses that each child is the only one who can accomplish this special purpose as well. What a validating and inspirational book for kids! THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU shares God’s heart, design, and purpose in such an exciting way!

-Thanks, BookLook Bloggers for another wonderful free book in exchange for my honest review!

Filed under: Book Review

Nonfiction for Children’s Magazines: Surprise

Can you imagine hiking through the woods and coming across a couch and re-used dumpster filled with goodies to eat (including a bag of fresh oranges?!)? That’s what my husband Jeff and I found when we were hiking a short distance along the Pacific Crest Trail in the mountains. What a surprise!!!!!!

Well today I have a surprise for you!

We’re trekking forward on our journey to write a nonfiction article for a children’s magazine. You’re invited to follow along as I prepare and write one for Clubhouse Jr.

And guess what?! I spoke with my editor there and she was so gracious to help us out.

First of all, she said that I could share with all of you that, “Our greatest need in the non-fiction category is true stories about ordinary kids doing extraordinary things. We also publish well-researched nature features.”

Plus, she said that when you submit your manuscript to Clubhouse Jr., you can mention in your cover letter that you followed along here on my blog to write your manuscript.

Now isn’t that exciting news?!!!! I could hardly wait to share this with you. Plus, I’ll remind you about this when we get ready to submit.

In upcoming posts, I’ll be sharing about 3 different formats of nonfiction I’ve written and gotten published with them so you can choose which format you’d like to write as well.

Filed under: Magazines, Nonfiction

Faith Building Fridays: Come to Jesus

As God’s scribes, our focus is on Jesus. He is the reason we write, the power behind the words we write, and our all-in-all.

Here is a video of a song that sums this all up. It’s Chris Rice’s song, “Come to Jesus.”

My prayer for you is that today you would spend time listening to this song, but not just listening to it, experiencing it. In worship. In praise. In prayer.

Experience the presence of God today…and come to Jesus!

(Note: I’d love to give credit where credit is due on the sketch of Jesus and the lamb at the top of this post, but I don’t know who created this. If you do, let me know and I’ll add the credit line!)

Filed under: Faith-building Fridays

Nonfiction for Children’s Magazines: Publishers Who Accept Submissions

Do you want to write and submit a nonfiction article to a children’s magazine? You can follow along here on the blog and write and submit one to Clubhouse Jr. like I am, but here’s a list if you want to explore more options.

30 Children’s Magazines

(that accept unsolicited manuscripts or queries)

Some have themes, some include online publications, some have unique requests, and some request query only. And guess what?! Most pay. Yay!

This is not a comprehensive list. Check your writer’s market guide for more!

1. Babybug

2. Boys’ Life

3. Boys’ Quest

4. Cadet Quest

5. Calliope

6. Ask

7. Cobblestone

8. Cricket

9. Dig

10. Muse

11. Faces

12. Fun for Kidz

13. Girls’ Life

14. Guide

15. Highlights

16. Hopscotch

17. Insight

18. Jack and Jill

19. Ladybug

20. Humpty Dumpty

21. National Geographic Kids

22. Nature Friend

23. Pockets

24. Shine Brightly

25. Skipping Stones

26. Sparkle

27. Spider

28. Young Rider

29. Clubhouse

30. Clubhouse Jr.

And if you really want to write and submit to children’s magazines, be sure to sign up for Ev Christensen’s e-zine, WRITING FOR CHILDREN’S MAGAZINES.

Filed under: Magazines, Nonfiction

Nonfiction for Children’s Magazines: The Topic

The magazine I’m writing my nonfiction article for is Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr. I’ve written for them for years. So have many of my writing friends. (That’s a picture on the cover of one of my feature fiction stories about Dudley the Dog (the beagle) and his friend Mike.)

If you’ve never written for Clubhouse Jr. before it’s important to know that their readership is for a Christian audience with a target age of children ages 4-7. Everything in their magazine is written from a biblical worldview meaning it has to support what the Bible says.

So, to show you the steps I’m taking to write my magazine article, I shared how I have a topic I want to write about, right?

Well, the next thing I sat down to do was to make sure my topic hasn’t been already published in the last year.

So I got out my past year of magazine samples and went through them to see which nonfiction topics had already been covered:

Chickens

Birds who build

Animal mothers

Inventions that copy nature

Animals in Australia

Kings: King of animals, king of fruit, king of dog, King of kings (Jesus)

Animal horns

The Great Barrier Reef

Uh-oh. Guess what?! My topic had been mentioned in two of those articles.

I’m so glad I checked!

So now I have a choice…I can either toss aside the idea or I can think of a fresh new angle to present my topic.

In the end I decided to think of a fresh new angle to cover because I REALLY want to double up and re-use my research. :o)

So if you want to write a nonfiction article for Clubhouse Jr., too, and never have before, here are some tips:

* Order in samples of their magazine to get a feel for how their nonfiction articles “speak” to kids. (For a sample issue, send your request (along with $2.50 and SASE) to Focus on the Family, 8605 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920 or call 1-800-232-6459. Requests are filled within four weeks.)

* Read their submission guidelines.

* Explore their website to get a general feel for their approach and their target audience.

Try to think of a topic you could write about for them. (Hint: They like unique animal articles but they also like cool nonfiction on any high-interest topic for kids.)

And if you don’t want to write for Clubhouse Jr. at this time but aren’t sure which magazine to target, guess what?! In an upcoming post I’ll be listing a bunch of children’s magazines who accept unsolicited nonfiction manuscripts. You can pick one to target.

And speaking of targeting a children’s magazine, if you have my book, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career, read Chapter 8: Target Periodicals again to brush up on an in-depth look at how to write and submit to magazine publishers.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Book Review: Thank You, Lord, For Everything

Thank You, Lord, For Everything

By P.J. Lyons

Art by Tim Warnes

Summary

Little Bear hops out of bed but before his feet even touch the floor, he says, “Thank you, Lord, for everything.” This precious rhyming story follows his day through breakfast time with Mommy and Daddy to play time with friends and on through the day. He stops during each activity to say thanks to God. Thankful, inspirational text combined with joy-filled art make this book a perfect read-aloud for little hearts.

What I Like

There are board books and then there are board books. One of my favorite things about this board book is that it is a large size (8 x 8 inches) which is so great for reading to little ones on your lap and that it is padded. I love holding this with its soft padded cover! So because I’m a grandma now, I value the tactile experience this offers for little hands. I also love its delightful rhyming text, sweet and happy art, and important message of being thankful to GOD for absolutely EVERYTHING in our day. Such a timeless truth to teach little hearts from their earliest days.

-Thanks, BookLook Bloggers for another wonderful free book in exchange for my honest review!

Filed under: Book Review

Faith Building Fridays: Full

For I am full of words;

the Spirit within me compels me.

-Job 32:18, NKJV

Have you felt it? That tugging in your heart, that burning fire inside compelling you to write? Have you felt so full of words that you’ll burst if you don’t put pen to paper and write? Write, fellow scribe! Don’t ignore those promptings of the Holy Spirit. Flow with the anointing upon you. And write!

Ah Lord God! How Your words burn within me! Give me the discernment to write these words down with wisdom. Give me the love to write these words down with conviction. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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For more faith-building encouragement as a writer, visit my site, Scribes.

Scribes: Devotions for Christian Writers is available at Amazon. What a great gift of encouragement for you to have to start a brand new year as a writer! Add it to your Christmas wish list today.

Filed under: Faith-building Fridays